Posted on 23 January 2010 | No Comment

Spike Jonze directs actor Andrew Garfield on the set of his ABSOLUT sponsored short film "I'm Here".

Releasing one of the most ambitious and sprawling movies of the year, Where the Wild Things Are, was apparently not enough work to keep prolific director Spike Jonze satisfied. The creative director of VBS tv teamed up with ABSOLUT vodka to create a short film that debuted last night at Sundance, as part of the film festival’s first-ever Opening Night Shorts program. Entitled I’m Here, Jonze’s short follows a typical day in the life of a digitized, rechargeable couple. Literally–these Jonses’ are a pair of computer-people that charge themselves up at night not by having fun in the bedroom, but simply by plugging in.

Recharging for the night in the ABSOLUT and Spike Jonze short I'm Here.

Questioning the direction of modern society’s ever-evolving technology was a theme Jonze had been interested in exploring for a while, and what made I’m Here even more special for the director was the surprising amount of creativity that working with ABSOLUT afforded him:

“They (ABSOLUT) didn’t give me any requirements to make a movie that had anything to do with vodka. They just wanted me to make something that was important to me, and let my imagination take me wherever I wanted. And it wasn’t like working with some huge corporation where I had to meet with committees of people. It was just a small group, and it seemed like creativity and making something that affected them emotionally was the only thing that really mattered to them. I got to make my first love story. It’s about the relationship between two robots living in Los Angeles”

ABSOLUT, which has previously collaborated on visual branding projects with the likes of legends Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Helmot Newton, will release the film via web premiere in March. Until then, the short will also be screened at the Berlin Film Festival in February.

The 31 minute short stars actors Andrew Garfield and Sienna Guillory in the lead roles, and features original music by Sam Spiegel and LA based musician Aska Matsumiya. For more information on Jonze’s vision of robotic love in LA, check out the I’m Here blog and view a short clip below!